This is an adapted excerpt from the May 15 episode of “Deadline: White House.”
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, has confirmed that Donald Trump’s trade war will lead to an increase in costs for consumers. “The higher tariffs will result in higher prices,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said during an earnings call on Thursday.
“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” McMillon said.
We know exactly who these price increases will hurt the most: low-income Americans, especially those who live in rural areas. Those are also the voters at the heart of Trump’s base.
We know exactly who these increases will hurt the most: low-income Americans, especially those who live in rural areas. Americans have been through rough economic periods before. But this situation is different. In 2020, the Covid pandemic sent the global economy into a tailspin. With the Lehman Brothers meltdown in 2008, Americans knew the bad actors in the financial sector were to blame. But this time around, the economic crisis we’re facing is the fault of the president of the United States. This is Trump’s doing. That’s why my Republican friends on Capitol Hill are so nervous. They know when these prices start going up and when it’s felt in the Trump base, they’re not going to be able to blame Democrats or Joe Biden. They’re not going to be able to blame the financial sector. They’re not going to be able to blame a pandemic. The only people to blame are Trump and the Republicans who enabled him. If the Republicans in Congress wanted to help the voters at the heart of their base, they would roll back these tariffs and put the president in check. Instead, they’re making sure that everyone who voted for Trump will feel the impact of his trade war on their next trip to Walmart.
Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. She is currently an MSNBC and NBC News political analyst.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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